Measuring Cartridge Overall Length Without a Gauge By Michael Gibson | 18 October 2017 Comments Comments How to find the cartridge overall length, without a gauge, to allow a bullet to just touch the rifle lands. Use this as a maximum length, and set your seating die to keep the bullet off the lands. Make sure the loaded cartridge fits in the magazine. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus